Israeli Arabs – rights, obligations and loyalties

Candidly Speaking: Israeli Arabs could potentially make a major contribution toward achieving peace.

Arab MKs 370.
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)

An incident during the recent retirement ceremony for Israel’s chief justice,
Dorit Beinisch, highlighted the complexities Israeli Arabs face in relation to
their identity.

Justice Salim Joubran, a respected Arab Supreme Court
judge, a member of the panel passing sentence on former president Moshe Katzav,
was televised standing in silence during the singing of the national anthem,
“Hatikva.”

Israel Beiteinu MK David Rotem immediately accused him of
having “spat in the face of the State of Israel” and suggested that if he
objects to singing the national anthem, he should “find a state with a more
appropriate anthem and move there.” His provocative outburst provided impetus
for post-Zionists and those seeking to de- Judaize the Jewish state to renew
efforts to replace Hatikva with a new anthem, an act most Israelis would
bitterly oppose.

Yet it is surely absurd to expect non-Jews to empathize
with Naphtali Herz Imber’s lyrics, which relate to the “yearning of the Jewish
soul” to live as “a free nation in our land, the land of Zion and
Jerusalem.”

Fortunately, the debate was nipped in the bud by the response
of Joubran’s colleague, Judge Elyakim Rubinstein, a religious Zionist and former
cabinet secretary whom nobody could accuse of compromising Zionist
traditions.

Rubinstein, who emphasized that he was strongly opposed to
the replacement of the lyrics of “Hatikva,” condemned the “ill directed”
criticism, stating that Joubran was “a loyal citizen of the State of Israel who
dutifully represents us.”

He pointed out that “we cannot demand that Arab
citizens should be obliged to sing lyrics of an anthem to which they cannot
relate and does not reflect their roots. We must make allowances for common
sense,” adding that “non-Jewish citizens must respect the national anthem and
stand while it is being sung and non-Jewish army, police and prison service
officers must salute while it is being sung.”

His views were fully
endorsed by other prominent politicians, including Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon.

Haaretz,
frustrated that the debate had been closed, published an editorial calling for a
new anthem.

There are today 1,500,000 Israeli-Arab citizens, compared to
150,000 when the state was created. Although during recent years the social gap
has narrowed considerably, this sector is proportionately less affluent and less
influential than the Jewish majority and could be likened to Hispanics and
African-Americans in the US social structure.

There is also a highly
disquieting growing antipathy and prejudice against Arab citizens among those
Israelis who increasingly perceive them as a fifth column identifying with
terrorists and allied with those seeking to destroy the Jewish
state.

This trend is primarily attributable to the Arab MKs who, instead
of seeking to integrate into Israeli society, compete with one another to
display contempt for their country and identify with its adversaries in actions
which most Israelis deem treasonable.

There are numerous examples. There
was the recent attendance of leading Israeli-Arab MKs at the signing of a
Hamas-Fatah reconciliation in Cairo; Dr. Azmi Bishara, a former Balad MK who has
now fled the country, allegedly collaborated with Hezbollah and Syria during the
Second Lebanon War; another Balad MK, Haneen Zoabi, notorious for making
outrageous remarks defending terrorists and accusing the IDF of war crimes,
joined Turkish terrorists on the Mavi Marmara Flotilla; MK Ahmed Tibi, Yasser
Arafat’s former adviser, recently enraged Israelis when he paid tribute and
sanctified Palestinian “martyrs... who died for the homeland” and “resist
Israelis who occupy and murder.” During the latest rocket attacks against
Israel, Tibi exhorted, “Be strong, oh Gaza. Stay steadfast, oh Gaza.”

The
northern branch of the Israeli Islamic Movement headed by Sheikh Raed Salah
engages in an ongoing Kulturkampf against Jews, repeatedly fanning hysteria by
promoting jihad and repeatedly accusing Israel of seeking to destroy Al-Aksa
Mosque. Salah also played a prominent role in the Turkish
flotilla.

Israeli-Arab leaders set aside an annual date to mourn the
creation of Israel as a “nakba” – a catastrophe, and commemorate it with three
days of marches, conferences and rallies during which they rail against the
Jewish state. There are even densely Arab populated areas in the Galilee such as
Umm el- Fahm and sections of east Jerusalem which law enforcement officers have
become loath to service.

In such an environment, Israel as a besieged
state is entitled to commendation for its level of tolerance toward a minority
that is so widely perceived as supporting its mortal enemies.

In his
speech to Congress last year, Prime Minister Netanyahu noted: “Of the 300
million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israeli Arab citizens
enjoy real democratic rights. Now, I want you to stop for a second and think
about that. Of the 300 million Arabs, less than one half of a percent are truly
free, and... they are all citizens of Israel.”

Arab Israelis enjoy
complete freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the right to educate their
children in their tradition. They receive identical social welfare benefits as
other Israelis. One need only visit an Israeli hospital, especially in
Jerusalem, to witness how they benefit from Israel’s remarkable health
system.

Not surprisingly, none of them display a desire to leave Israel
and join their kinsmen in Arab countries.

Indeed, opinion polls
demonstrate that should a division of Jerusalem eventuate, many Arabs in the
city would unhesitatingly change their place of residence to ensure that they
remain under Israeli jurisdiction.

According to a 2011 poll by the Israel
Democracy Institute, 52.8% of Arab citizens responded positively to the question
as to whether they were proud to be Israelis. Amazingly, 45% even agreed that it
is “important or very important” to strengthen Israel’s military might. While
one can also identify contradictory and hostile indicators, this does suggest
that the jury is still out and that the anti-Israeli Arab politicians are not
necessarily representative of all Israeli Arabs, with many still opting to be
loyal, law-abiding citizens.

Sadly, the government has failed to chart an
overall long-term strategy on how to deal with its Arab minority.

Such a
plan is now long overdue. It should be based on efforts to improve the
socio-economic status of Israeli Arabs and bring them into line with the rest of
the population. Arabs who seek to contribute positively to the state should be
encouraged and rewarded. Provisions should be made for Arabs to engage in a form
of national service.

However, there is also a need to strengthen the laws
against treason and incitement, thus enabling the enforcement agencies to deal
much more severely with those who indulge in such activities or support those
seeking to destroy us.

Concurrently, with negative perceptions of Israeli
Arabs beginning to enrage even the most tolerant sections of the nation, an
intensive campaign to educate against prejudice is also required. Who knows –
were this to succeed and if in future more progressive Arab regional leaders
emerged, Israeli Arabs could make a major contribution toward achieving
peace.

The writer’s website can be viewed at
www.wordfromjerusalem.com He may be contacted at
ileibler@netvision.net.il

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